Abstract

Despite the importance of lobsters in Barbados to the tourist restaurant industry, neither the local fishery nor the import trade have been previously documented, and catch data for lobster are not recorded. This study examined the local lobster fishery during July/August 1992 and lobster imports for the period December 1990 to December 1991. Spiny lobster is the most highly priced marine food item in Barbados. Locally caught and imported whole lobster sell for U.S. $11.00/ kg, and lobster tails and lobster meat are imported at U.S. $30- 33/ kg and U.S. $20- 22/ kg respectively. The local lobster fishery is highly seasonal (June- October) and lobsters are caught of the east coast primarily by free- diving and secondarily by SCUBA, and off the west coast primarily by fish pots. The spotted spiny lobster (Panulirus guttatus) is the most prevalent species taken in the free- diving east coast fishery, accounting for 95.3% by number of the total lobster landings. The mean size of P. guttatus in the catches is 245 gm (whole wet weight) and the sex ratio is 1.83 males 10 1 female. The larger Caribbean spiny lobster (P. argus) is the dominant species taken in the west coast pot fishery, accouting for 96.2% of the total lobster landings on this coast. The smoothtail spiny lobster (P. laevicauda) is the second most abundant species in the catches for both coasts. The import trade is dominated by P. argus from Belize (tails and meat), Grenada and Carriacou (whole lobsters), and totals approximately 26 mt per year.

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